THE LEFT CIRCLES THE PENTAGON - AT 6:01 A.M. ET:  Apparently, the left wing of the Democratic Party hasn't read about the missile sitting on the launch pad in North Korea (see story below), doesn't much mind the Taliban in Afghanistan, really doesn't think Iran is a threat, regards China's military buildup as natural, and believes Russia's new muscle flexing is just charming nationalism, kind of like a ballet with guns.  The left is going after the defense budget, as The Hill reports:

President Obama is facing mounting pressure from his party’s left flank to cut defense spending so more money can be spent on social programs.

A letter obtained by The Hill shows that liberal advocacy groups and lawmakers want Obama to seize a moment when Democrats control both Congress and the White House and scrap costly weapons programs they say have drained domestic coffers.

Hard economic times are intensifying pressure to choose guns or butter, particularly as the Bush administration is criticized for sharply raising spending on both.

The left’s demands pose a looming problem for the president, who traveled to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to build support for his budget, which has already drawn criticism from centrist Democrats for a 12 percent increase in domestic discretionary spending. This further fractures the party, with liberals focused on Obama’s call to hike defense spending by 4 percent.

COMMENT:  Will the left ever learn?  Well, of course not.  Then it wouldn't be the left any longer.  The Democratic Party used to be the national defense party, the party that constructed the post-World War II defense system that led to our winning the Cold War.  That was then, this is now.  In the 1960s the party was compromised by a leftist faction that has gained substantial power. 

The president must resist the leftists.  If he cannot, his presidency, like Jimmah Carter's, can go down in flames...assuming Americans understand what is happening, and care.

March 26, 2009